


The Night Shift

by flynnparadox



Series: Alien: Evolution [2]
Category: Alien Quadrilogy (Movies), Alien: Resurrection (1997)
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Masturbation, Mental Instability, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 19:34:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28676034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flynnparadox/pseuds/flynnparadox
Summary: Alone on the Betty while the others - Johner, Vriess and Ripley 8 - are asleep in cyro, the android Call battles loneliness. But is she really alone on the ship? Or is something hiding? Waiting...Takes place shortly after the events of "Derelict".
Relationships: Annalee Call/Ellen Ripley
Series: Alien: Evolution [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2100264
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	The Night Shift

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little story to continue Call and Ripley 8's saga. I didn't want to leave this world or these characters. Events in my life and the world at large have been trying as of late. This is my way of coping.

Call sat at the console by navigation, a wire leading from the deck to her arm. She had patched into the Betty's computer system, uploading the all the information she had downloaded from the alien derelict ship that they had recently raided.  
She shook her head at the memory. The Complex orbiting a white dwarf star with many other floating pieces of junk in a Dyson Ring. All those people lost. It was a tragedy of a monumental scale. At least in her eyes. The others - Johner, Vriess and Ripley 8 - didn't seem all that bothered. True, most of the people who had died were not exactly good folk, but still...  
Call was wired differently. An android designed by other androids specifically programmed to care about humanity. It was a burden sometimes.  
The information uploaded successfully, Call unplugged herself from the computer and stood up. She glanced at the pilot's seat, which was empty. It was on automatic, a luxury that they had sprung for after a particularly lucrative job. She nodded and proceeded into the rear areas of the ship.  
She lingered in the doorway of the cyrosleep room. For a moment, she just stared into the room, at the six units cramped into it. Three of them were occupied by the other crew-members.  
Whenever they decided to take a jaunt across more than a few star systems, the human - or, mostly human - crew went into cyro while Call stayed awake to monitor the ship's systems and make sure they didn't encounter any problems with the faster than light drive. Currently, the Betty was a week into a month-long journey to the Outer Rim. Call was already starting to feel lonely out here in the Void.  
She sighed and turned away from the room. Looking at them as they slept was not only a little creepy, it was also painful. Especially observing Ripley.  
She proceeded into the rec area. It was a common room for eating, sport and generally just lounging around. Call looked about the room. She paused her gaze at the mini-kitchen. She could eat. But, then again, she didn't need to eat. It had become something of a habit, designed to make the others feel comfortable around her.  
So, no need to keep up the charade for another few weeks. She took a seat on one of the old, comfortable couches they had thrown in here. Springs creaked as she sat down, stretching her arms over the top of the couch. She remained here for a little while - perhaps a day - before getting up and walking over to the arcade cabinet.  
ATOM ZONE the cabinet declared. It had previously been installed directly behind the cockpit before they had refit the Betty and created the rec area.  
She booted up the machine and started playing the game. Nine hours of hard work later, she still hadn't found a way to beat Johner's high score. It made no sense to her. Here she was, an android with a computer brain and wired reflexes, and she couldn't beat a high score on a video game. She didn't understand it. Who knows? Maybe Johner had cheated in some way.  
She left the rec area. Checked on the cockpit once again to make sure that everything was working properly. It was when she was heading aft that she saw the shadow for the first time. That's all it was, at first: a shadow. Nothing more than that. Just something out of place, something that shouldn't have been there. It was near the engine room, at the end of the corridor. Call narrowed her eyes, squinted.  
Yes, a shadow. Something that looked like a person. Standing in the doorway all the way down. Call approached, curious. As she did so, the shadow seemed to dissipate. To disappear. Soon, it was gone.  
Call stood where she was, confused. Surely it was just a trick of the light. She nodded. Yes, it must have been that. Then she proceeded into a large storage closet where she had set up a small bunk for herself. She lay down and recharged for an hour, which was all she required.  
The shadow didn't even cross her mind. Not then.

She spent a week deciphering the language of the Engineers. It was difficult work and it took her sometime to master it. Certainly, the most difficult language she had come across.  
The ship was mostly dark. There wasn't a reason to keep most of the lights on. Best to conserve power and channel it to systems that mattered: navigation, flight control, the cryopods. Call sat at navigation once again. It was comfortable to her. Ripley had taught her and Vriess how to fly the Betty, of course, but she preferred to sit here unless she had to get into one of the pilot's chairs for some reason.  
As she sat in the dark, her mind running through the countless logs she had downloaded from the alien ship, she heard something. She paused her reading and looked into the dark.  
The sound had come from the rear of the ship, which was where Call directed her gaze. At first, she didn't see anything. Only darkness.  
Then something moved, way back at the end of the corridor. Something black as the dark and almost three meters tall.  
Call stood up at once, instantly terrified. Desperately, she looked about for a weapon. Not finding any, she looked back at the alien creature.  
But it was gone.  
Call accessed her console and flicked on the lights to the corridor. It was true. There was nothing there.  
Slowly, carefully, she investigated, grabbing a hard shell rifle from the rec area. She checked every room, taking her time, leading with the rifle.  
Nothing.  
She collapsed, back against a wall, dropping her rifle to the floor. She was malfunctioning. Must be. The ship was clear. There was no one here but the sleeping crew and herself.  
Something was wrong with her.

Call lay on top of Ripley's cyro tube, leaning on her side, head resting on an arm. She looked at the wall. Off into nothingness.  
She spoke to Ripley. Even though she wasn't looking at her. Even though there was no way that her lover could hear her words. "I keep looking for it. Thinking that it must be here somewhere. Hiding. I have to protect you. All of you."  
She rolled over onto her stomach and looked at Ripley through the glass. She took a breath onto it, fogging it up. Then she used her finger to trace Ripley's beautiful, shaved head. Dot in her eyes.  
She smiled. "I think about waking you up every day. Every hour, actually. I'm afraid to recharge. Afraid I'll miss something." She looked off into the middle distance. "Afraid you'll be hurt. Maybe I should wake you up. You'd know what to do."  
She rolled off the cryro tube onto the floor. Turned to Ripley. "But I won't. I'd have to turn off the faster than light drive." She wagged her finger. "Not good for humans. No. Not at all. And we need to get to where we're going. That job on Praxus is not going to be there forever."  
She wandered off, mid-thought. Crossed the room and proceeded into the main corridor. Now, what was she doing again?

Another week gone. Call had done very little. Just looked around the ship in a vague, undefined panic. She had barely recharged at all. Only three times, and none of them for the full, optimal time.  
She walked into the cockpit. She was completely naked expect for her boots and socks: knee-high, dark and striped. Ripley had told her that she liked these socks so Call had made sure that she took care of them. Carefully washing them whenever she had the opportunity.  
She scratched her head and took a seat in the pilot's chair. Propped a foot up on the console. Watched the stars as they zipped by at incredible speed.  
Idly, she ran a hand along her outstretched leg. The hand slowly found its way between her legs. She closed her eyes.  
Ripley had opened her up to sensual experiences she had never thought possible. And now she craved them. Craved Ripley's touch.  
But it wasn't to be. Not until the end of this journey. A journey that seemed much longer than it should have been.  
Her hand moved faster and she gripped the chair with the other. She could feel sweat running down her forehead. She imagined Ripely leaning over. Yes, Ripley. She was the one doing this to her. Not an android masturbating.  
Call sighed and stopped. The absurdity of it all ruined it for her. It was ridiculous. She should be doing something productive.  
She took her foot off the console and planted it on the chair rest. Sat forward. Something productive. Yes.  
She accessed the alien ship's records. It had been some time since she had reviewed them.  
An hour later, her eyes closed once again - this time in concentration, looking inward - she was in the middle of reviewing files when she heard something. Movement. Near her.  
She opened her eyes. And screamed.  
One of them. A xenomorph. An alien. It was standing right over her. It's jaw centimeters away from her face. Saliva dripped from between its metal teeth and onto her face.  
It was hissing. Getting ready to strike.  
Frantically, she kicked out at it. Rolled out of the pilot's chair, crashing to the floor. If she were human, she would have had the wind knocked out of her.  
But she wasn't. She was up in an instant. Running out of the cockpit and down the main corridor.  
She could hear the alien chasing after her. Could feel it on her heels.  
She was heading to the rec area. And the armory. There were weapons of all kinds there.  
She reached the room, the alien less than a meter behind her. It reached out for her, taking a swipe. She ducked and rolled to her left, out of its way.  
She bolted for the armory, which was so close. The alien shrieked in anger and whirled about in her direction.  
Call reached the weapons locker - a large case installed in the wall - and threw the doors open. She didn't think. Just acted. She grabbed a cartridge pistol, something Vriess had pieced together years ago.  
When she whirled around, the alien was right there, arms outstretched towards her. Call fired, twice. Point blank range. Right in its face.  
She closed her eyes, waiting for death, wondering if there was anything that would follow. Surely not. At least, not for her.  
But it didn't happen. She didn't die.  
Slowly, she opened her eyes. One at a time. There was nothing in front of her. Nothing in the room except its furnishings and an android holding a pistol, naked except for her boots and socks. She slowly lowered the pistol.  
Call heard something nearby spark. She raised her pistol once again, aiming it towards the sound. It was the arcade game. Atom Zone had been destroyed by the two shots she had fired.  
"Shit," she said.  
Now she would have to fix it or Johner would never let her hear the end of it. And he would still rip her a new one because he'd have to regain his high score.  
But that wasn't important right now. All of this flew through her brain in milliseconds. No, the important thing was what had just happened.  
The alien wasn't real. Had never been. It was all in her mind.  
She nodded. Right, then. Malfunctioning. She had to wake the crew and force them to shut her down. Perhaps permanently.  
It was a shame. She didn't want to do it. She felt that she had a lot more to offer. But it was necessary. She was a danger to the crew. To the ship. Had to be done.  
She sighed and replaced the pistol in the weapons locker. She took a step and stopped. Her eyes were wide, unfocused.  
The data from the alien ship. Every time she had accessed it during the downtime, the spectral alien had appeared. Those events must have been connected.  
She nodded. Yes, that was it. Had to be.  
She walked to the couch - her couch, she had come to think of it - and sat down. She closed her eyes and did a full system check. It took some time - several hours - but she hit pay dirt.  
A worm.  
An insidious, persistent computer worm that had hid among the alien data. Something that would dig its way into a computer's system, copying itself and crowding out other data. Something that the Engineers had designed as backup.  
And since this particular computer - namely, Call herself - was a walking, talking, living thing, the worm had taken the shape of something that scared Call. The alien.  
She opened her eyes. Now she was determined.  
She got up from the couch. Made a round of the ship, once again making sure that all systems were working normally. When she was sure that they were, she sat in the navigation chair. Patched herself into the ship's computer. She would purge the worm from both her own mind and the ship's computer at the same time.  
She leaned back in the chair and put her feet up on the console. Still naked, still in just her boots and socks. She crossed her legs. Closed her eyes.  
And dived into her own subconscious.

At first, it was like diving into water. She plunged into the water, which was black, heavy. She struggled for a moment, searching for the surface. She finally found it and emerged into the open air.  
It was raining. Lightning and thunder crashed above. Call looked about. A vast sea revealed itself to her. Massive waves undulated all around her.  
She saw an island not far away and swam towards it. It was tough work - the waves were fighting against her - but she made it.  
As she approached it, she could see a large structure on the island. A pyramid of some kind. Black and steely grey. Biomechanical.  
Call knew, instinctively, that this was the dwelling of the worm. She sped up, chopping through the water.  
She reached the shore and climbed up the hard rocks that made up its beach. She looked up at the massive pyramid. It towered above her. She focused her gaze ahead of her. There was a doorway. Open. Waiting for her.  
What she needed was a weapon of some kind. A moment later, she saw a few of them piled together near the pyramid. She headed towards them.  
They weren't real, of course. None of this was. Everything here were symbols in her mind. Symbols representing the defense mechanisms installed into her computer brain.  
She looked the weapons over and grabbed a double-barreled shotgun. One of Vriess' designs. She checked the ammo, nodded and started for the door.  
"Toss me one of those."  
She whipped around to the source of the voice. Walking up out of the ocean behind her was Ripley. Water dripped off her strong body, trailed down her beautiful shaved head. Call smiled a confused, queer smile.  
"What are you doing here?" she asked.  
Ripley shrugged. "Figured you'd need my help."  
Call nodded. "I do."  
"Good. Then shut up and toss me one of those."  
Call reached down and grabbed a firearm - an old-model pulse rifle - and threw it to Ripley. The other woman caught it deftly out of the air and checked it herself. She nodded and looked at Call. "Let's go."  
The two women headed into the darkness of the pyramid. Both of their weapons had lights installed on them and they flicked them on. The two lights barely seemed to penetrate the darkness. Their weak beams tapered off into nothingness only a few meters ahead of them.  
Still, they proceeded forward. Ripley looked at Call. "Can't help but notice that you're naked."  
Call looked down. She was still only wearing her socks and boots. "Yeah, looks like. It's like a bad dream."  
"When have you ever had a bad dream?" Ripley asked. "Or any dream at all?"  
Call opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. "I haven't. But I know a lot about them."  
Ripley nodded. "Fair enough. But this isn't a bad dream. Not from my perspective." She looked Call up and down. Winked at her.  
Call shook her head. But she was smiling.  
A shriek came out of the dark and a shape bounded towards them. Call didn't think, just reacted. She fired twice, both barrels erupting. The xenomorph that came for them didn't last long. Call's shotgun took half of its head off.  
It was rocked back, collapsing onto the floor. Acid blood ate away at the metal grating they were standing on. Call and Ripley took a quick few steps forward to avoid falling into the newly-formed hole.  
Ripley looked down at the dead alien and nodded. Looked up at Call. "Good work. Clean shot."  
"Thank you," Call said.  
Before they could move forward, another alien came rushing out of the dark. It slammed into Call, knocking her over. The creature leaned over her, hissing in her face.  
"Get it away from you!" Ripley shouted.  
Call struggled. The alien opened its jaw. The android could see the thing's inner jaws getting ready to strike.  
With all her might, she kicked up at the creature and pushed it off her, throwing it to one side. She rolled out of its way just as Ripley fired a line of bullets at the beast.  
It shrieked as its flesh was ripped open by the gunfire. Yellow, hissing blood erupted, splattering against the far wall. Its shrieks ended as it died, slumping to the floor.  
Call stood up, brushing herself off. She retrieved her weapon and nodded to Ripley. They proceeded forward.  
Finally, they reached a vast cave. Or hall. It reminded Call of both, as well as the massive holds of the alien derelict. The walls were black and steely grey. A huge face dominated the back area of the chamber.  
Call frowned. It was Ripley's face.  
Yes, it was Ripley. Her shaved head, fine features and all.  
Ripley scoffed. "Can't keep me out of your mind, can you Call?"  
Call didn't smile. It was all too disturbing to her. She looked up in thought. The ceiling was covered in fog. Condensation of some kind.  
She took a few steps towards the face. And suddenly it came to life. Opened its mouth, revealing its tongue.  
And something slithering out of it.  
A long, segmented insect. Or worm. Made up of skulls and bone. All of them metal. It had no eyes, like the xenomorph and shrieked like them as it came for the two women.  
Call managed to dodge and roll out of its way as it swung towards her. Ripley was already firing. Each shot finding its mark, peppering the monster's hideous flesh with bullet holes. Dozens and dozens of them.  
Horrid yellow blood began to ooze from its wounds. As the fountain of horrible blood hit the floor, it began to eat away at it.  
Call popped up on the ground in a crouch and started pumping round after round from the shotgun into the thing's side. She yelled at it as she fired. A tired, frustrated cry. A primal scream.  
Ripley managed to project her voice over the cacophony of sound. "Is this what you think of me?!" But she was smiling.  
The thing went for Ripley, knocking her to the ground. Ripley's pulse rifle hit the floor and spun away from her. The creature reared up, towering over Ripley. It made to strike.  
Call stepped over Ripley, putting herself between her lover and the monster. She fired both barrels of her shotgun into the creature's open mouth.  
As the monster was thrown back by the blasts, Ripley and Call got out of its way. Blood began to pour out of its mouth and onto the exact spot where Ripley and Call had been just seconds before.  
The creature shook and stuttered. It thrashed about but Call knew that it was history. Dead.  
With a final undulation that passed through its entire blasphemous body, the monster collapsed to the floor. The entire chamber shook when it fell.  
Slowly, Ripley and Call got up and observed the thing. Ripley retrieved her pulse rifle and looked up at the massive carving of her own face. Shook her head. "What have I done to you, babe?"  
Call didn't answer. She approached the beast and gave it a good kick. Nothing. It was truly dead. She turned to Ripley. "It's just my mind. I'm... all messed up."  
Then the entire pyramid began to shake, as if rocked by an earthquake. Call and Ripley had to struggle to keep on their feet.  
"This whole place is going to come down around us," Ripley said.  
Call nodded. The two of them bolted out of the room and back down the corridor, heading for the exit.  
Chunks of wall collapsed as they passed them. Big hunks of metal and black flesh ripping out of its skeleton. Call could see black blood erupt from the newly-opened wounds.  
An alien fell out of one of the holes in the wall. Tumbled to the ground and popped up, right in their path. Neither of them hesitated, both of them bringing up their weapons and firing. The xenomorph was taken apart instantly.  
The place was truly coming down on them now, chunks of ceiling raining down from above. They were forced to drop their weapons in order to move faster.  
Finally, they reached the door. Emerged into the stormy night. The pyramid above them collapsed in on itself. One whole side of it teetered and fell towards them. It was big enough to cover the entire beach.  
"Into the water!" Ripley cried.  
The two women ran at the waves and dived in just as the pyramid slammed into the beach, shattering rocks and penetrating the earth around them.  
Call couldn't see in the water. It was too dense. Too black.  
Desperately, she searched for Ripley but couldn't find her. Then the world began to fade away. Call could feel it slipping through her fingers. She began to lose sensation in her limbs. She was returning to the real world.

Call's eyes snapped open. She looked about. She was still in the cockpit, at navigation.  
She took her feet off the console and leaned forward. Did a systems check on both herself and the ship. Everything was normal. The worm was gone.  
Satisfied, she unplugged herself from the computer. She got up and walked slowly, sluggishly, towards her little cot. Laid down. She recharged for double the optimal time. It felt... refreshing.

In the time that remained in the trip, Call repaired the Atom Zone arcade cabinet and did odd jobs around the ship. But she also allowed herself rest. Her system had taken a major shock, a blow that most synthetics wouldn't have survived. She owed herself some downtime.  
But she wasn't idle. In her downtime, she recorded video logs, wrote poems (something that she had been dabbling in with limited success) and played Atom Zone.  
When it was time to wake up the crew after they dropped out of faster than light drive, Call did so with an eagerness that was almost human. She was so happy to see Ripley and the others again.  
She had Vriess' chair ready for him but made sure to not help him out - he hated when people did that. She had a bottle of some poisonous alcohol for Johner. And a kiss for Ripley.  
"How did you sleep?" Call asked Ripley after the three of them had some time to recover.  
Ripley nodded. "It was alright. I think."  
Call also nodded. She turned to Johner. "Atom Zone broke. I had to fix it."  
Johner looked crestfallen. Then angry. "You just wanted to eliminate my high score!"  
Call shook her head. Didn't let it get to her.  
Ripley stood up slowly. Call helped her. As they headed for the showers, Ripley looked at her lover. "So, other than the arcade game breaking, anything else exciting happen?"  
Call thought about it for a moment. "Nothing much."  
Ripley frowned. "I had the strangest dream. You were in it."  
Call gripped Ripley's body tighter as they headed into the showers. "Tell me all about it."


End file.
